Roller skate



March 24, 1953 A. WINTERCORN 2,632,652

ROLLER SKATE Filed May 9, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IILEEM INVENTOR. Alb er! m'ni'trcorn BWWM ATTORNEY March 24, K1953 A. WINTERCORN ROLLER SKATE Filed May 9, 1950* 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. l n rw lll m W Q Y b I 3 A N v. w e

kw 1 i I r. Ji \NNJ on W m w QM mm r M YI- 1 I ha W4 QM. w a

ATTORNEY March 24, 1953 ROLLER SKATE Filed May 9, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l aviz n R m H mw m m a N M. m m m N e A MN 6w 1 Z. Q \W &w v NW NW. W r Y U N INN 6 B m NJ RN A IR M N BE I N ena in t Patented Mar. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RQLLER SKATE Alhet W nte eorn, oohmi i s, Ohi Application May 9, 1950, Serial No..160,9.63

Cla m The; present invention relates t9 rellep skates,

ili itly snpp rteel by wt e tmelts tee in comnoxien pa ts. Qf the sk teaiu thenobiect Q th ventiqn s it t ta fiaqtta tae ina, base ia ate .2 l a .e t d. by e s assemb ies of the skateleandflwhex in. nr v an; made iatn.- ab ie t base n a to, latet llyoi e a tq itae les skating surfaces more skillfully and with better ala c heietei te. I

It s bieet Qt the in en en t9 Pte de -a q1le tati;t1a a Ha 9f i t wh pp r ed q t 9 l a i lan her in pieisi s mat or impattme: entrel d v utni a m em ttt it a d wheels about ai a is na manner tlro ert enate totheqe reeq a er tflt n atevettteat Qt a. feetsupeort ne base P te Q the ka e-1 A tutttie q ieet 01-: the intent en is te pro ide skat having r t an ttue a le mblies arranged l n t din x alert dand re ativel A and wh rei s '9 assemb ies at th -aeeqmnanying raw Fi l s a vie m tide ele ati Qt. roller skate cqn truct d in a ee ean e Witttthe meeve inven 'Qn' i ,1 i a riz nta see iena view thr ugh the teller ka e the at-4e i tima ed y he..- ne 2+2 Qt Fi l;

e- 31s er c lqna tu ina ee tiea iewhrou h th k te on he Pl ne ti sel seti b the line. -3 o Fig 5,

. E a-,2 4; i a heria nt l. se t enai view a eee ilteen the: ire-ti truelt 9t th the pl ne ind a by t e-lin 4-4 t; F g;

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken through the rea rucker the skat en the ne -5 9f E i 6 i a ertical ttansvetse se tle a1. view taken hrough the tro t t uels sit-ate n the pla e ndi a b t e 31% 5-5 ieand showin thees i atory base p ate ulepe t of; the

. irqn tru k n its nermal u 'eht ne itiqn;

urnit emevemea abqtt a r' l supaett a; tilte t eesitiee ea l- 0d action th r of in qxe n he irot wheels o the truck about a vertic l: xi

Fie- 8: s. a det i heriaqntal e ti na view tak n on the pl ne indi te by the l ne 8 9 F -l1. n dis sin me e a t eitlatl ttte tettqni 917 stt tiqn. Q the rqnt tru ks.

Eta 91s a det il. Vi w 9i the eeqi w tta e 29, e tr ck heels dame with: the R ee et a tenti e, lPliQ' te su tt n member tee l tte heme t o i elu e a leed and: a e s a k. q 1

1 trar t iiet e s a oil. spring being QHSIEKEQKWWG il h shank. f th tiltele e membe 'and- QQ E fiIle-Q; b t e n a shoulder p ovid d-ext, the n w 9faid; member and a at be said cu wt et by t etree has le lat t the basep a e ef 7 ls he n nt en p ov des a oller which a f ont l-1191 ass mb s r sent which formed to enable thev fqo 'reeeiy a ev-ekatet yiem v t wall in: t eth s ppe ti-ne mean iii ante? mparted i use ethe eke v a, and; Wi ter? laterally, the truck including, a f q'y. Q1; 'l ql'st f mem er to the o wa dno t e 'whi h'is Ri e al y n c ed er tu nin mevement a n a er a a is a heel earr n flame ra ket the latter embod i g a eater-tal y tll t et .s tte lf xt si n in. which the lower end of a til'ta le pl t -eup e membe s nie tnted fe 9 .9 1

tony ement il he beds; member. the mate men-t being such that rqclging mqv exit, of the til 'ab e embe out t -1 9 is. t l zed. in ad ntine th s te mere teed t6 ur in mov nts an efieetm au jpma, ta ly bodily i ngmeyem nt n .the nat 9f he whe arrying rack t o said tjre tj twt s' aseem blj l th nab ing the rea Wh els ef he skate t t n in parall l sm abeut a qqmmon yer ta axis when lateral tilting movement of} the f ot pp ting p te of the st te s n edtted.

r in the. r w gs m imnt v d roller ka e n t f en ena ledies i qt-sqppqtt ie ba e p ate t the twee oe 259? t e ka r is ad p it? be a ta bed in e tiett l mantle?! 11th: as b ie us a etewe 3 the like. The base plate is supported by means of front and rear trucks which are indicated in their entireties by the numerals 3 and 4, respectively.

The front truck is formed to include a bolster body 5 which is vertically slotted, as at 5, for the reception of a pivotally mounted plate-supporting member i. The latter includes a body 8 which is longitudinally bored as at 9 to receive the intermediate portion of a shaft ill, the end portions of said shaft being disposed for turning movement in a socket and an opening I I provided longitudinally in the bolster body 5 in registry with the bore 9 of the supporting member I. The body 8 is formed with a threaded opening for the reception of a set screw i2, which bears on the shaft III to cause the latter to turn in unison with the member I.

The forward part of the bolster body 5 is formed with an integral, forwardly projecting and horizontally disposed shelf I3, which is provided centrally with a vertical opening l4. The shelf I3 is positioned in a recess I5 provided in the rear of a wheel-carrying frame bracket Hi. This bracket comprises a vertically disposed and transversely extending plate-like body I! which is provided with vertical slots [8 for the reception of the forward pair of supporting wheels [9 of the skate. At its front, the platelike body is formed with integral forwardly projecting spaced ears 26 which, as shown in Fig. 9, are provided with horizontally disposed and aligned threaded openings for the reception of adjustable externally threaded bearing studs 25.

The outer ends of these studs are socketed as at 22 for the reception of the shanks of rotating tools, not shown, while the inner ends of said studs are formed with tapered sockets for the reception of the outer conical ends 23 of wheel axles 24. Each of these axles has a threaded body 25, which is received in threaded openings provided in a pair of metallic disks 26 disposed in circular recesses 21 provided in the inner and outer faces of the wheels l9, the disks being held in place by the screws indicated at 28, the shanks of the latter penetrating the wooden or other bodies of the wheels [9. Set screws 29 may be used for maintaining the adjustment of the antifriction axle-receiving studs 2|. By the use of this construction, the wheels of the front truck are supported so that the same may rotate freely about a common horizontal axis, and in a secure and substantial manner.

The rear part of the body plate i! of the front truck has integrally formed therewith a horizontally projecting lip 3!] which rests upon the upper surface of the shelf l3 of the bolster body, the lip 30 being formed with an opening for the reception of a vertical king bolt 3|, the threaded lower end of said bolt being received in a registering opening 32 formed in a horizontally disposed bracket extension 33 which underlies thebolster body 5. At its rear, the extension 33 includes an arcuate slot 34 in which is po- -sitioned the lower end of a headed stud 35 which is stationarily carried by and projects downwardly from the rear of the bolster body 5, thereby adding support to the pivotally movable frame bracket I6.

The extension 33 of said bracket, in front of the arcuate slot 34, is longitudinally slotted as at 36 to receive the spherically headed lower end of the supporting member i, the spherical head of said member being indicated at 31. In this instance, the latter is confined between a pair of adjustable plates 38 which are carried by the screws shown at 39 in Fig. 8, the said screws being arranged in bars 46 stationarily carried by and depending from the under surface of the extension 33 at the sides thereof. When the foot plate i of the skate is rocked, corresponding rocking or tilting movement in a lateral direction is imparted to the member 1. Since this member is carried by the shaft I6 arranged intermediately of the height of the member 1, the lower spherical end of said member imparts turning movement to the extension 33 about the axis afforded by the king bolt 3|, causing turning movement of the ground-engaging wheels l9 about the axis of the king bolt to an extent proportionate to the degree of lateral tilting movement of the foot plate I, as depicted in Figs. 6 and '7 of the drawmgs.

Yieldable restraint of the supporting member 1 in its vertical or two laterally tilted positions is obtained by providing the front and rear surfaces of the body 8 of said supporting member with spherical depressions 4! which are adapted to receive the end portions of spring-pressed balls 42 mounted in aligned bores 43 provided in the bolster body 5. The balls 42 are spring-pressed into engagement with the depressions 41 by means of springs 44 which may be tensioned by the screws indicated at 45, the latter being threaded into the outer ends of the bores 43. The spring-pressed balls 42 thus serve to yieldably retain the foot plate in its various positions of rocking movement about the axis provided by the shaft 16, to aid the skater when rounding curves and banking toward the inside of the curve.

The body 8 of the supporting member 7 terminates upwardly in a shank 46 and above said shank in a head. The shank is received in an opening 43 provided in the lower wall 49 of a retaining cup 56. This cup has the upper portion thereof outwardly and horizontally flanged as at 5|, the upper surface of said flange engaging with gaskets 52 through which pass the shanks of securing screws 53 employed in uniting the retaining cup 50' with the under surface of the base or foot plate I, the lower ends of the screws 53 being equipped with tightening nuts 54, the latter serving to hold the securing cup in closely held engagement with the gaskets 52 and the foot plate I.

The interior of the cup includes a chamber 55 in which the head 41 is positioned. A coil spring 56 surrounds the shank 46 and is disposed between a shoulder 51 formed on the bottom of the cup 56 and a complemental shoulder 58 provided at the upper end of the body 8 of the member l, the spring serving to resiliently support the foot plate and the weight of the skater on the front truck. The degree of vertical movement of the foot plate relative to the headed upper end of the member '1' is regulated, as shown in Fig. 6, by providing the head 41 at its sides with slots 59 in which are received the reduced inner ends of a pair of set screws 65, the latter being threaded into openings provided in registration with each other in the cup 50. r

The rear truck 4 of each skate of the present invention is formed to comprise a frame 6| having a transverse plate 62 which corresponds in formation to the plate ll of the frame l6, the plate 62 being formed with rearwardly projecting ears 63 for the rotatable reception of a rear pair of wheels 64, which are supported for rotation in connection with said plate and its cars 63 as are the front-wheels it in connection with the plate H and ears 20 utilizing the same antifrictionsupporting devices depicted in Fig. 9.

To mount the, rear portion of the foot plate l on the rear frame 6!," use is made of the retaining cups t5 whichcorrespond with the cups 59 in construction and 'functiomthe cups 65 being attached to the under side ofthe plate I- by-the fastening devices shown at 66, which are the same as those disclosed at 82, 5'3 and 54 and previously described in connection with the front-truck of the skate. In fact, theonly fundamental difference between the front and rear truck assemblies of the present invention resides in the fact that the reartruck and its wheels as do not turn about a vertical axis, as do the front wheels about the king bolt 3!. Thus the plate 62 includes a forwardly projecting horizontally disposed shelf 61. The shelf is formed with an openin fQr the reoeptidnof the lower end 68 of an upright, ear iii); the latter being formed with a hQliZO ital opening 78 for the reception of the intermediate portion of a shaft "H, which is longitudinally aligned with the shaft HLtheshaft if being retained in the opening Til by a set screw l2. Rockable on the shaft TI is the bifurcated lower end 13 of a laterally tiltable base plate supporting member it which corresponds in function to the forward member I, a shock absorbing coil spring it being interposed between the end 73 of the member M and the retaining cup 65.

Spring-pressed ball devices it, corresponding with the ball devices 42 of the forward truck assembly, engage with spherical depressions 11 provided in the forward face of the bifurcated lower end 13 of the member '14. The devices 16 coact With the devices 42 for the purpose of yieldably holding the foot or base plate I in various positions of rocking adjustment about the horizontal axes afforded by the shafts l8 and 1 l. The adjoining ends of the shafts I i] and 'H are united by a coil-type contractile spring 18, which serves to resiliently unite the front and rear truck assemblies.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides improved roller skates which respond sensitively to the movements of the skaters feet in controlling the operation of the skates and the directions of movement which they follow over a rink surface or other supporting base. The user of the skates by laterally tilting the attaching plates will rock the supporting members, indicated at 'l and 14, on the front and rear truck assemblies, the movement being utilized to retain the balance of the skater when negotiatin turns and the like and also to enable the front pair of wheels on each skate to deflect angularly with respect to the longitudinal axes of the skates in facilitating quickly executed turns. It will be noted that the horizontal axis of the front steerable wheels 19 is disposed in advance of the vertical axis of turning movement of their supporting bracket on the lip or bench 13 of each forward truck. This construction enables the foot-attaching plate I to be disposed at a normal or average height above the rink surface and to also utilize the vertical shock-absorbing spring means 56 and 15. By placing the forward pair of wheels 19 in the advanced position illustrated, the skates are provided with improved stabilityand balance, rendering the same easy to use and control.

Virtually all the parts are formed from lightweight metals such as aluminum and its alloys,

6 so that the skate is surprisingly light in weight when its construction is taken into consideration.

-]2 claim: 7 v

1. In roller skate construction, a truck as sembly comprising a body'member, a bracket, a,

pair of spaced wheels carried by said bracket for turning movement about a horizontal axis, means pivotallyconnecting-said bracket with saidbody member for pivotal movement about a vertical axis disposed substantially midwaybetween 'said wheels and to the rear of said horizontal axis, said bracket including a rearwardly disposed-extension arranged beneath said body member, an upright supporting member; a horizontally dis posed pivotal connection uniting said supporting member substantially intermediately of the height thereof withsaid body member and adapt ing-said supporting member for rocking move ment in a confined vertical plane transversely of the truckassembly, said supporting member havin a lower endreceived between closely adjacent sidewalls of a slot formed in the horizontal extension of said bracket, whereby toeffeet turning movement of said bracket about its vertical axis and the bodily shifting of the wheels carried thereby upon rocking movement of said supporting member, and a foot-attaching plate joined for support with the upper end of said supporting member. 7

2. In roller skate construction, a truck comprising a body member formed with a forwardly projecting bench and a relatively rearwardly disposed transversely extending vertical slot, a bracket, a pair of spaced base-engaging wheels carried by the ends of said bracket for turning movement about a substantially horizontal axis, means pivotally connecting said bracket with the bench of said body member for pivotal movement about a vertical axis disposed substantially midway between said wheels to the rear of their horizontal axis of turning movement, said bracket including an extension arranged beneath said body member, said extension being formed with a slot disposed in registration with the slot of said body member, an upright supporting member, a horizontal pivotal connection uniting said supporting member intermediately of the height thereof with the body member of said truck, said pivotal connection adapting said supporting member for transverse tilting movement in a substantially vertical plane, said supporting member having a lower end received between relatively closely positioned side walls of the slot formed in said bracket extension, whereby to effect turning movement of said bracket and the wheels carried thereby about its vertical axis on said truck, and a foot-attaching plate joined for support with the upper end of said supporting member and movable in unison with the lateral tilting movements of the latter.

3. Roller skate construction as specified in claim 2 and wherein the bracket extension is formed with an arcuate slot disposed concentrically with respect to the vertical axis of turning movement of said bracket on said truck, and a stud projection carried by the body member of said truck, said projection being positioned in said arcuate slot.

4. Roller skate construction as defined in claim 2, and wherein the slot in the horizontal extension of said bracket is provided with relatively adjustable side wall forming plates for engagement with the lower end of said transversely tiltable supporting member, and threaded devices carried by the body member of said truck for securing and maintaining the adjustment of said plates.

5. Roller skate construction as defined in claim 2, and wherein the laterally tlitable plate-supporting member is formed within the slot of the body member of said truck with opposed fiat surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being provided with a plurality of spaced depressions disposed in arcuate order about the horizontal axis of tilting movement of the supporting member, and a spring-pressed ball device carried by the body member of said truck and engageable with said depressions to yieldably retain said supporting member in its laterally tilted positions. 6. In roller skate construction, a foot-attachingplate, front and rear longitudinally aligned wheel-carrying trucks arranged beneath said plate, means carried by said trucks supporting said plate for lateral tilting movement relative to said trucks, a bracket on said front truck carrying a forward pair of wheels, means pivotally connecting said bracket with said front truck, said means providing for turning movement of said bracket and the wheels carried thereby about a substantially vertical axis disposed to the rear and midway of the horizontal axis of turning movement of said forward pair of wheels, means responsive to lateral tilting movement of said plate and the truck-carried supported means to impart turning movement to said bracket and its wheels about said vertical axis, longitudinally spaced and aligned cup devices rigidly attached to and depending from the under side of said plate, said cup devices being each formed with an internal chamber and a reduced axially disposed opening for the reception of the upper ends of the lateral tilting supporting means of said trucks, and resilient means interposed between said lateral tilting means and said cup devices. ALBERT WINTERCORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Kohler et a1. Aug. 6, 1912 

